Traffic fine with a company car in Belgium: who pays?

A speed camera photo of a company car rarely goes to the driver directly. The letter is sent to the company or the leasing company named on the registration certificate. So who pays a fine incurred in a company car: the employee or the employer? And can the employer simply deduct the amount from your salary?

The rules are stricter than many companies think. The company must state within 15 days who was driving, and it cannot simply pay the fine itself to spare the employee. In this article, we set out the rules for employers and employees alike. How a traffic fine generally works is explained in our article on the degrees of traffic offences and the procedure.

Who receives the fine for a company or lease car?

If the driver is not stopped, the letter is sent to the holder of the number plate: the company or, for a lease car, the leasing company, which forwards the request to the employer.

If the vehicle is registered in the name of a legal entity, article 67ter of the Road Traffic Act applies. There is no presumption that the company itself was driving. There is, however, an obligation to identify the driver.

The regular driver

A leasing or rental company can have a regular driver registered in the Crossroads Bank for Vehicles. That driver is then treated as the holder of the number plate. The letter is sent to him or her directly. He or she is presumed to be the driver, unless he or she proves that someone else was driving and identifies that person. That is what article 67bis provides. More details in our article on identifying the driver.

The company’s duty to identify the driver: 15 days

The company, or the person representing it, must provide the driver’s identity within 15 days of the request for information being sent. If it does not know who was driving, it names the person responsible for the vehicle. That person must in turn give the driver’s name.

This obligation only lapses in the event of theft, fraud or force majeure. The law also requires the company to take the necessary measures to be able to know who was driving. A logbook or a booking system for pool cars is therefore not a luxury.

Anyone who does not reply, or replies too late, commits a separate offence. Since 1 September 2026, for a legal entity, this is punishable by a level 1 penalty under the new Criminal Code, on top of the original offence.

The company cannot take the fine on itself

Some managers want to spare an employee and simply pay the fine themselves without naming anyone. That is not allowed. The Court of Cassation confirmed in a recent judgment that the company and its representative cannot escape the duty to identify the driver by taking responsibility for the offence themselves. The conviction for failing to provide the information was upheld.

If the manager was driving, he or she must name himself or herself.

Did the company actually receive the letter?

The Court of Cassation held on 14 December 2021 (P.21.1108.N) that the judge cannot simply infer from the fact that the letter was sent that the company received it. It must be reasonable to accept that the request was actually received, or that non-receipt was due to negligence. The company must have a real opportunity to dispute it. A letterbox that nobody empties, on the other hand, is negligence.

Who pays the fine: the employee or the employer?

A fine is a personal penalty. The employee who committed the offence therefore in principle pays it, even if he or she was driving for work.

The employer as civilly liable party

Article 67 of the Road Traffic Act provides an exception. Anyone who is civilly liable for another person under the Civil Code, such as an employer for its employee (article 6.14 of the Civil Code), is also liable for the fine imposed by the judge. Employee and employer are then jointly liable for payment.

This rule is applied strictly:

• the offence must have been committed during and in the course of the work, while the employee was under the employer’s authority;
• the police court (tribunal de police) of Vilvoorde refused to hold the employer liable for an accident on the way home from an assignment abroad;
• the Court of Cassation, on the other hand, accepted liability for a technician on weekend call-out duty, after a visit to a customer (26 March 2003).

The employer is not itself convicted; it remains a civil obligation.

Can the employer recover the fine?

In most cases, yes. The labour courts disagree on the exact legal basis. According to most case law, the employer has paid a debt that is ultimately owed by the employee. It then takes the creditor’s place (legal subrogation, article 5.220 of the Civil Code) and can claim the full amount. A minority applies article 18 of the Employment Contracts Act. The employer can then only recover in cases of wilful misconduct, gross negligence or habitual minor negligence.

A clear clause in the work rules or the car policy helps. It can provide that the employee bears fines incurred through his or her own fault. Exception: if the employer is itself at fault, for example because it ordered the employee to drive too fast or provided a defective car, it cannot recover the amount.

Deduction from salary: one fifth at most

If the employee does not pay voluntarily, the employer can treat the amount as an advance and deduct it from the salary. The Act of 12 April 1965 on the protection of remuneration limits this: all deductions together may not exceed one fifth of net pay. A large fine is therefore spread over several pay periods.

Social security and tax consequences for the employer

If the employer permanently takes the fine on itself, it is granting the employee a benefit.

Consequence	What it means
Solidarity contribution	33% on the fine reimbursed or paid; for minor offences, an annual exemption applies
Employee’s personal income tax	In principle a taxable benefit in kind
Corporate income tax	A fine is not a deductible business expense

Check the specific consequences with your payroll provider (secrétariat social) or accountant.

A driving ban for the employee

A serious offence in a company car can lead to a driving ban (déchéance du droit de conduire). This is a personal penalty for the employee. The employer cannot take it over. If an employer nevertheless lets an employee drive knowing that he or she is banned from driving, the employer can itself be prosecuted. See our article on driving during a driving ban.

Frequently asked questions

Have your case reviewed

Has your company received a request for information or a summons (citation) for failing to identify the driver? Or, as an employee, are you disputing a deduction from your salary? Contact us. Also read our article on speeding.

Law as at 30 September 2026. We update this article when the rules change.